Scarlet Lullabies
by death-in-the-orchard
Summary: A monster and a child, Alucard and a three year old girl...both adorned with the same color...


She was three years old, and dressed in a scarlet, lacy dress. Ribbons trailed from her back, a large bow reflecting the moonlight as she danced, her feet turning her round beneath the twinkling starry night.

She was watched by a demon dressed in crimson, his eyes of the same color. The orbs were mirrored in the window, swaying with the girl and her ribbons. The monster did not speak when a voice called to him.

An empty glass absorbed the blue of the woman's eyes, holding them as she looked at the documents that were arranged on the dark, stained wood of her desk. The blue was stolen from the glass when the woman closed her eyes for a moment. Integra Hellsing's gaze flowed across the room as she looked at her servant and saw the attention he gave to the window. The empty glass was given life by the colors of her moving figure as she stood and walked without sound towards the crimson demon. She stopped beside him, and her face joined the reflection in the window.

"What is it?" she whispered, unable to draw upon her voice in the empty quiet, the silence swallowing it as she willed herself to speak. However, the vampire heard her words and his dead lips were brought to life, though his eyes did not move from the streaming ribbons or the hands that swam through the darkness as moon-white arms touched the stars.

"A child."

In the reflection, the woman's eyes flicked from behind her round glasses to wander over the nosferatu's unchanged features. He did not speak again, though his mouth twitched as if he was going to repeat himself. Integra looked through the window, past their faces, and into the dark.

"I don't see anything." There was nothing present that could track the time as the two stood silently, side by side. The female Hellsing's shoulders suddenly tightened and her posture became rigid. Her face turned to the vampire and she spoke with a clear, quiet vanquishing voice. "Alucard."

The demon did not speak, watching the girl throw her head back with unheard laughter on her lips, and soft curls rolled back to frame her face. The ribbons arched as she danced forward and spun on her toes, carrying her body over the grass of the grounds. She moved with an angelic grace that did not belong with one of her age. The red eyes came into focus in the reflection, erasing the child for a moment as they saw themselves.

"I see a little girl." Integra stiffened and jerked her head to the window when Alucard spoke, and his gaze went through the glass to the child. "Dressed in red."

"Alucard." Integra breathed, a fault of doubt catching her words in her throat, making her pause. She closed her mouth and directed her eyes to the vampire's expression. "There's no one there." Her slow whisper lingered, but as the wisps of sound were swallowed by space, the creature glanced at his master, and his eyes fixed on her for several moments. When Integra blinked, the crimson orbs returned to the window, and they saw the dancing child under the moon.

"But she's there." Alucard looked hard at the petite figure while Integra's eyes grew, taking in a spark of fear. "As clear as day." He whispered and stared at the black window. Integra couldn't keep back a gasp when Alucard spun on his heels without looking at her, and his black boots stepped across the room before he melded into the wall. The woman's eyes remained on the wall for some time, until color caught her eye and she faced the window. She walked forward and her glove pressed against the translucent glass, her fingers covering the red shape until Alucard moved from under them, walking over the grass. The gloved fingers trembled, and Integra did not remove them.

The vampire approached the girl, able to hear her bell-like laughter now, but she took no notice of him, and she twirled in place as a night breeze picked up and rustled the blades of grass, bending them so that they swayed with her dance. A star, shaped by crossing lines, the sign of the devil, moved, carried on the back of a white glove reaching to touch the girl's auburn hair. When contact was made, the shape of the girl broke like a pillar of water, the droplets showing parts of the vampire, standing as a clear mirror that shattered.

Integra watched mutely as her servant froze, reaching towards empty space, and then stepped back before he stopped again and looked from his hand to the space. He turned and made his way back into the mansion. Hearing a sound behind her, Integra turned to look at the door. She gasped and backed away, hitting the window. A little girl dressed in a scarlet gown smiled before the door.

Alucard had just fazed into the hall leading to Integra's office when he heard a sharp scream. Within it, was his name.

"ALUCARD!"

The nosferatu leaped through the wall, sliding across the floor in a ready crouch, his back to his master. His eyes beheld the girl and lost their glare, filling with surprise. He straightened, continuing to stare at the girl as she giggled playfully and caught her hands before herself. Alucard looked back at Integra. She was gazing past him, her eyes fused to the child, while her face was drained of color. "I see her too." She said in a faint voice. Alucard watched her for a prolonged moment before his eyes flashed to the little girl.

The door burst forth without warning, the hinges bringing the slab of wood around and it swung into the child. Integra gasped when the scarlet dressed figure was thrown across the room as if she weighed nothing more than a feather, rather than a three year old child. Walter was at the door, having kicked it open, and his hands drew his wires taut, the metal glinting. His eyes ran over Alucard and Integra, then narrowed and followed where the two were both looking. As his eyes came to the girl, she burst into tears, wailing piteously on her hands and knees by the opposite wall. A hiccup broke the sobs, and Walter pulled off his gloves and they fell to the floor as he strode to the girl with a dread weighted expression. He reached out to touch the girl, not noticing as the vampire stiffened with anticipation. Alucard's lips parted when Walter scooped up the girl and cradled her in his arms, apologizing wholeheartedly.

"Walter."

The butler looked away from the quieted girl and he froze at Alucard's queer expression. The nosferatu's eyes did not move from the arms that were holding the girl. "You can touch her." He whispered in wonder.

Walter was quiet, unable to make sense of the creature's words. Then he caught sight of Integra's face and he stepped towards her instinctively, securing his hold on the child who was also watching the woman. "Sir Integra? Is something the matter?" The female Hellsing couldn't move.

"Walter."

The old man looked at Alucard, standing still now.

"That's not a real little girl." Walter's eyes widened and refused to move to the child he was holding as she suddenly became weightless. When the girl flowed through his arms and stood in the midst of the company, Alucard followed her every movement, her dark eyes looking directly at him. "She's not real."

A light giggle that made the room brighten and breathe with the warmth of summer, slipped from the girl's rose petal lips and she twirled in her dance just as she had before on the grass in front of the mansion. She stopped abruptly, her curls swinging about her face while she giggled again, mesmerizing those who watched her. Seras came to the door and the girl looked over her shoulder curiously. Then her eyes rested on Alucard. The two watched one another without a word.

The childish smile dimpled the girl's face. "Of course I'm real."

Seras didn't know why, but her breath hitched in her throat at the words. Her voice was beautiful like a song, but it and what she had said, did not belong to a child such as herself. Alucard was the first to speak.

"I think… she's a ghost or some form of haunt."

All eyes glanced at the vampire, but no one spoke out against the statement. No one, except the girl who pouted and crossed her arms. "I am not a ghost."

The demon raised his brow and smirked, showing fangs. "Oh?" he held his smirk. "Then what are you?"

The girl brightened and her face turned up to the ceiling as her arms spread towards it. She laughed and spun, her ribbons flowing with her. "I'm an angel!" she laughed with the voices of chimes in a spring breeze. The humans and the young vampire were fascinated by the girl, but Alucard chuckled darkly, exempt from her charm.

"I think not, child."

The girl stopped twirling and doubled over, holding her stomach as she laughed loudly, though the sound was still pleasant. She flowed towards Alucard, moving with a sudden wind that touched the creature's pitch hair. "I _am_ an angel." She beamed, looking up at the towering figure. She turned around in a circle with her eyes closed. "I am. I am." Giggles spoke. Crimson watched her, giving away none of the thoughts that were kept behind them. The two gazed at one another when the girl stopped moving. "I _am _an angel."

Alucard smiled, animating it with a chuckle. "Then what is your name, _little_ _angel_?"

The child's eyes grew and she smiled amiably before breaking into a fit of giggles. She did not answer the question, instead, she danced over to Seras who watched her anxiously, then smiled. "Hello." The fledgling offered with a nervous smile. The girl clapped her hands in joy.

"Hello!" Laughter rung behind her as she went to Walter and waited for the same greeting. She gave her own and then went to Integra. Satisfied, the child skipped and danced about the office, the skirts of her dress whispering as she moved and laughed.

"Why are you here?" Integra spoke, having reclaimed her calm. She smiled at the pleasant sight the child provided.

The girl paused, bending over backwards to look at Integra. She surprised them by touching her hands to the ground and kicking over to stand upright once more. She turned with a bright grin, facing Integra. "Because I'm here!" she threw out her arms and laughed. She began to dance around the room once more.

Walter was already smiling at this point. "You're a very good dancer, Miss Angel."

The girl went to him laughing again. "That's because I was going to be a ballerina when I grew up!"

Walter blinked, losing his smile gradually. "But you're an angel, right?"

The girl bounded away, dancing as she moved through the room. She twirled gracefully on the tip of a pointed foot. "I was alive!" she sang, still moving. "And then I died!" she laughed while compassion seeped into the gazes around her. Only Alucard was unreadable.

"How did you die?" Seras asked by the doorway. The child stopped and looked at her with a wide grin. She giggled and turned away from her. A dainty hand lifted.

"He killed me."

The room lost all warmth with the finger that pointed at Alucard, and Seras let out a gasp that slipped past the hands she used to cover her mouth. Integra was shaken and she stared at her servant's back. Walter's face deadened while he remained silent.

Alucard smirked, making the women's hearts stop for a moment, both Seras and Integra flinching. "Did I now?"

"Yes." The girl smiled.

Fangs entered the beast's grin. "So, you are a vengeful little angel?"

The girl gasped and shook her head hurriedly. "No. I wanted to thank you." There was silence and Alucard stared blankly at the girl. She smiled again. "You made me an angel." The quiet was unbroken as red eyes followed the girl that went before the vampire. A hand rose and touched his coat.

Sunshine and laughing smiles, golden, bleeding rain, alighting off of crystal roses to kiss the clouds and make them shine with the purest light, holding every color, the child dancing, her dress white, shimmering like a pearl as a blue sky descended as the sea, crashing waves, the singing of nightingales and children…and mothers, with the creaking of a wooden rocking chair, the tinkling of her beaded earrings as she moved with the girl upon her lap, song coming from her lips. The room solidified from the foam of the waves, and a moon appeared in the uncovered window…dripping with red blood.

The air in the room rushed, knocking books from their shelves and tearing forth their pages. The woman stood, clutching her child, and the chair rocked…farther and farther back. It fell with a crash. Then came the thud of the woman's body, her eyes wide and lightless as blood painted a ring about her neck, drawn from two punctures in her colorless flesh. The girl never hit the ground, held in the arms of a crimson demon with grinning, bloodied jaws. Daggers of teeth dripped with the red, drops dotting the white gown of the child. Large brown eyes were like glass, showing the demon's visage as it plunged towards her and the fangs pierced into her neck, blood flowing instantly with the jerk the girl gave and the dimness that came into her gaze. Her eyes flew open with a shower of blood. The monster ripped out her throat and her head lolled back without support. And there…it dangled, the dead wide eyes seeing the body of the mother…and the overturned rocking chair.

Then there was a smile in the darkness, and a cackle sliced into the quiet, accompanied by the screams of glass as the window shattered and the child's corpse fell through the empty air. The monster was gone when her body struck the hard wood of the floor and blood pooled about her, dying her dress scarlet.

The figure of the mother rose, a ghoul now, and she moved towards her daughter, hungry jaws parted as her hands gripped the little girl.

Alucard's vision cleared and he saw the office once more. The girl stood under his gaze. She was three years old, and dressed in a scarlet, lacy dress. And she was dead.

The outline of the girl became unsure, but it was not fading. She was growing brighter until she melted into the lamplight that lit the room. Laughter and a few words were left in her wake.

"Thank you."

Those a part of the Hellsing organization were silent, watching Alucard. The vampire observed the place where the child had been moments before, his face empty. Then a calm flowed into his features and he tilted his head, his eyes unmoving. "So I created an angel?" He shook his head and left the room without speaking a word to those watching him.

How could such a careless horror…create something so pure? Ripping free a sinless soul…to create an angel, given wings with her existing innocence. Though…the vampire still doubted that the girl was anything more…than a common haunt. Innocent little angel…bearing no name, he mused as he felt dawn peek over the horizon. He shut himself in his coffin, and all was quiet, but the beast frowned as he could not recall his own memory of killing the girl. He saw many dead children, but none of them had faces…


End file.
